Combination of Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited

Which credit card goes best with Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card? In most cases this Pursuit of Unlimited Freedom®.

By combining a daily rewards card with a travel credit card, you can maximize the rewards you earn on every purchase. Because Chase allows you to pool your Ultimate Rewards before they are redeemed, you can use Chase Sapphire Preferred to increase the value of your Rewards by 25 percent when you redeem them for travel purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Why get two bonus Chase cards? The answer is simple. With more than one high-yielding Chase credit card in your wallet, you can optimize your rewards and benefits—not just every time you make a purchase, but also when you redeem your rewards for travel, statement credits, and more.

Here’s what you need to know about the combination of Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited

Both Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited are the highest rewarding credit cards, giving you the ability to earn top tier rewards on your purchases. While Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee, you won’t end up paying the three-figure annual fees that are charged on more exclusive credit cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

In fact, your Chase Freedom Unlimited cash rewards appear in your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and you can transfer them to your Sapphire Preferred Card. Then, when you use Sapphire Preferred to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, those points are automatically increased by 25 percent. Instead of the usual 1 cent, each pip is worth 1.25 cents.

Chase Sapphire prefers

Chase Sapphire Preferred is a travel credit card that offers 5x Ultimate Rewards points on trips purchased through the Chase portal, 2x points on other travel purchases, and 1x points on all other purchases. It also gives you 3x more points on food, select streaming services, and online grocery shopping (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs). Note. The 5x points increase on any hotel bookings made through the Chase Portal will not be credited until you use the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit.

Chase Sapphire Preferred also has two huge benefits that make it stand out from the competition, and costs $95 per year. First, Sapphire Preferred currently offers one of the best signup bonuses in the industry, giving new cardholders the opportunity to earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points by spending $4,000 in the first three months. This bonus is worth $600 when redeemed for cashback or a credit statement.

Second, your Chase Sapphire Preferred Rewards Points increase in value by 25 percent when you redeem them for Chase Ultimate Rewards travel, meaning those 60,000 Reward Points can be worth up to $750. Your Sapphire Preferred Points also increase in value by 25 percent when redeemed for statement credits through Chase Pay Yourself Back. Categories eligible for Pay Yourself Back vary by card and change from time to time. Right now, the 25% boost applies to Airbnb purchases and some charitable donations.

The pursuit of unlimited freedom

Chase Freedom Unlimited is a cashback credit card with no annual fee that offers 3% cashback on restaurant and pharmacy purchases and 1.5% cashback on all other purchases. Cardholders can also receive 5% cash back on Lyft purchases through March 2025, as well as 5% cash back on Chase Ultimate Rewards trip purchases.

Clearly, Chase Freedom Unlimited brings in big rewards, and that’s before you add in the valuable signup bonus of an extra 1.5% cash back on everything up to $20,000 spent in the first year. Basically, you can earn up to $300 for a signup bonus.

When you combine these two signup bonuses, you can earn up to $900 in cash rewards. Alternatively, if you transfer your Freedom Unlimited welcome bonus to Sapphire Preferred, you can earn 90,000 points. And since each of these points can increase in value by up to 25 percent – depending on how you choose to use them – you can earn $1,125 in rewards just from the sign-up bonuses of these two cards.

That’s why Chase Freedom Unlimited is one of the best cards to pair with Sapphire Preferred.

How to start pairing Chase cards

If you don’t already have one or both of these credit cards in your wallet, we recommend starting with Chase Freedom Unlimited. Why? Since this is a universal credit card for daily rewards, you will be able to immediately receive high cash rewards for your regular purchases. Plus, you don’t have to pay an annual fee for this privilege.

Once you’ve decided you like Freedom Unlimited enough to add a second Chase credit card, it’s time to apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred. Be aware that if you have applied for more than five credit cards (of any issuer) in the last 24 months, you will probably not be accepted for a new Chase credit card due to the Chase 5/24 rule. However, if you apply for the card with care and have a decent credit score, you may be able to get a Sapphire Preferred Card.

After you combine your Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card rewards, you may want to consider adding Chase Freedom Flex℠ to reap the benefits of Chase trifecta. With your third Chase credit card at your disposal, your opportunities to earn rewards and save money continue to expand—so keep that in mind as you plan your next few credit card applications.

Pair these cards for better use

If you don’t know how to use these two cards in a way that maximizes your profits, you may be missing out on some money saving opportunities.

Start by making enough purchases to earn a sign-up bonus for each card. That’s $4,000 in purchases on Sapphire Preferred. It might sound cool, which is why we recommend using your card to pay for everything you spend on during the first three months: utilities, mobile phone bills, auto insurance, and more.

Once you have reached this goal, you must transfer the majority of your everyday purchases such as groceries, pharmacy purchases, online shopping and gasoline to your Freedom Unlimited as the card’s welcome offer in the form of an additional 1.5% cashback all extends up to $20,000 in the first year. This is in addition to the regular 1.5% cashback on all regular purchases.

After the first year, you can use each card for the highest reward purchases. Because Chase Freedom Unlimited earns more rewards per dollar on all purchases except travel, it makes sense to use this card for most of your non-travel expenses. You can save on travel, streaming subscription, and online grocery orders with Chase Sapphire Preferred.

If you want to take advantage of the Chase Pay Yourself Back program, make sure you pay for the correct purchases on each credit card before you start using statement credits. Chase Freedom Unlimited currently has the same 25% bonuses on select charitable donations as Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The only purchase category available for both cards is Airbnb on Sapphire Preferred. That’s another reason to use this card for all your travel purchases, whether you put them on the card or use your Ultimate Rewards points to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

You can maximize the benefits of both cards by following the quick guide below:

	Pursuit of Unlimited Freedom®	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Categories of expenses	Use for restaurants, pharmacies, Lyft rides, and general shopping.	Use for travel purchased through the Chase Portal, general travel, select streaming services, and online purchases.
Bonus for registration	Get an extra 1.5% cashback on everything you buy (up to $20,000 spent in the first year).	Earn 60,000 Bonus Points by spending $4,000 in the first three months.
How to maximize reward	Convert cash rewards back to Ultimate Rewards at 1 cent per point, then combine with Chase Sapphire Preferred Points	Redeem your travel points through Chase Ultimate Rewards to increase their value by 25%.

bottom line

Combining Chase Sapphire Preferred with Chase Freedom Unlimited is a good option for most people looking to get bonus cards. You can take advantage of Freedom Unlimited’s high cashback potential by increasing the value of your rewards by 25 percent when you combine your points with Chase Sapphire Preferred. Add to that two of the best signup bonuses on the market and you have the opportunity to get more out of your new Chase credit cards.